Journalism of Courage
A cyberattack targeting a service provider for airline check-in and boarding systems has disrupted operations at several major European airports, including London’s Heathrow, leading to delays and cancellations on Saturday, Reuters reported.
Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, said Collins Aerospace, which supplies check-in and boarding systems to multiple airlines worldwide, was hit by a technical issue that may cause disruptions for departing passengers.
Brussels Airport and Berlin Airport also confirmed they were affected. In a separate statement, Collins Aerospace’s parent company RTX acknowledged a “cyber-related disruption” to its software at select airports, though it did not specify which ones.
“The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations,” RTX said in an emailed statement, as per Reuters, adding that efforts were underway to restore services.
Brussels Airport said automated systems were rendered inoperable after the incident, which began Friday night, forcing reliance on manual check-in and boarding procedures. “This has a large impact on the flight schedule and will unfortunately cause delays and cancellations of flights,” the airport added.
Berlin Airport posted a notice on its website warning passengers of “longer waiting times at check-in” and said it was “working on a quick solution.” Both airports urged travelers to reconfirm their bookings before heading out.
Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s busiest, and Zurich Airport confirmed they had not been impacted.
